Hallway Encounters
by MoodyMoony241
Summary: Lily catches the Marauders beating up a student in the middle of the Night. Currently just a one-shot, but I'm open to suggestions. Please read and review!


**Okay, I'm sorry I haven't updated Forced Together in a while, but I've been a little stuck. So when I sat down to try to write, I got this. It's meant to be a one-shot, but if you guys like it enough, I might consider turning it into a story. Hope you like it.**

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I had just gone for a walk through the castle's many hallways. A simple walk to pass the time and to clear my head. Then it happened.

The four boys surrounded another menacingly. The leader of the group and one of the tallest laughed as his friend sent another hex at the fifth boy. He was tall, as I mentioned before, and many of the girls in my school thought him rather handsome. Granted, he had thick dark brown hair, and a firm jaw, but those girls couldn't see through a pretty face like I could. Behind those dark rimmed glasses were sparkling brown eyes. They sparkled with laughter, love, and friendship, but worst of all was the amusement that reared its head whenever an unsuspecting victim passed by. I hated those eyes, but more importantly I hated the hidden evil in them. And that evil was apparent in the eyes of two of his friends.

The first, the friend who I first saw attack, was barely two inches shorter than the leader. With shaggy black hair and his renowned "dreamy" gray eyes, he too was thought quite attractive by the girls. The third boy whose eyes held that despicable wickedness should not have had a cruel heart at all. He was short, pudgy, and to put it bluntly, ugly. Though he was not openly abused, there were certainly plenty who delighted in making fun of him when he was not in the room. Moreover, he was shy and a willing follower. The evil in his soul and the meekness in his behavior clashed so obviously that the combination never failed to puzzle me.

The last boy in the group was the only one without menace, the only one who had never drawn his wand on anyone. The tallest, with sandy brown hair and light blue eyes, he was smart and sweet, the only true Gryffindor of the group. It was a pity that he had been drawn in by the others. But even more a pity was the mistreatment of their fellow student, even if he was of the rival house.

The fifth boy was of average height without an ounce of fat on him. Dark, stringy hair obscured his face and though the pain was obvious on his face, he didn't dignify the others' actions with screams. Though I admired this, I disliked him nearly as much as the leader and his two flunkies. He had been my closest friend before I had even known about magic and then he had turned on me.

With a sigh and a shake of my head, I stepped forward and cleared my throat.

"Why am I not surprised you four are at it again?" I smiled in satisfaction at seeing the stricken looks on their faces.

"Evening, Evans," said the leader. "You're looking nice tonight."

"Shut your mouth, Potter. You and Black will each be given a week's worth of detention with Professor McGonagall." The two dark haired boys gaped. "Lupin and Pettigrew, you'll serve at least one detention with Professor Dumbledore. Now the four of you get back to the dormitories before I punish you further for being out after hours." Potter and Black looked at me in astonishment.

"I think you just beat your record, Evans," Black said.

"Yeah, I don't think you've thought of such a brutal punishment in so little time before. I'm almost proud," Potter agreed. I glared, unfazed by the supposedly sexy smirk he gave me.

"Get back to the dorm now or I _will_ punish you further," I ordered them. As Prefect I would not show lenience after witnessing such a spectacle of cruelty. With one last confused look from Potter for having resisted his "charm", the four departed and I was left alone with Severus. He had managed to pick himself up and regain his composure.

"Are you all right, Severus?"

"Fine. No thanks to you." He had seen the Marauders, as they called themselves, get what they deserved and was ready to return to the Slytherin Common Room in the dungeons.

"If I hadn't come by, they would have done much worse and you know it." He ignored my angry words as he slunk down the hallway. I shook my head and went back the way I had come. Certainly the walk hadn't calmed me, but it _had_ distracted me from my thoughts. Unfortunately, the encounter had only added disappointment to them. They all came crashing down as soon as my temper had cooled enough to actually allow rational thought.

By the time I had returned to the Common Room, one question had repeated itself so many times I was sure I would remember it even in my sleep: Why had there been a flicker of hurt in Potter's eyes when he failed to win me over?

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**So? What did you think? Please review.**


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